Since its inception in 1995, the Java® programming language (Java® is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.) has become increasingly popular. Java, which is an interpreted language, enabled the creation of applications that could be run on a wide variety of platforms, i.e., so called “platform independent applications.” This ability to function across a variety of different client platforms and Java's relatively easy implementation of network applications has resulted in its use in endeavors as basic as personal webpages to endeavors as complex as large business-to-business enterprise systems.
As Java has become more commonplace, a wide variety of tools and development platforms have been created to assist developers in the creation and implementation of platform independent applications using Java or other languages that support platform independent applications. One such type of platform independent application is the web portal. A web portal is a World Wide Web site whose purpose is to be a starting point for a wide variety of users when these users connect to the Web. Thus, a number of products have arisen to assist in the design of customized web portals that provide tools and integrate previously generated content. These products provide graphics, content, sample portlets, i.e., applications that can run within a web portal, and tools for interacting with and modifying the same.
One commonly used function of such tools is the backup and propagation of portal applications. Often a developer will wish to modify an application in a development and testing environment first before propagating the changes to a version of the application that is part of a working portal, i.e., the “working setting” or “production environment.” After testing the modified application in the testing environment, the developer then passes the changes to the version of the application in the working setting.
However, these applications can be difficult to configure and often store relevant data in a variety of difficult-to-identify locations. This makes the task of accurately propagating the changes to the version of the application in the working setting highly unreliable and time consuming.
What is needed is a tool for propagating portal applications that allows for the easy capture and transferal of changes to an application.